August 11, 2015 "Information
Clearing House"
- "Buzzfeed"
- “The way I find meaning is
the way that most people find meaning, even religious
ones, which is to get pleasure and significance from
your job, from your loved ones, from your avocation,
art, literature, music. People like me don’t worry about
what it’s all about in a cosmic sense, because we know
it isn’t about anything. It’s what we make of this
transitory existence that matters.
“If you’re an atheist and an
evolutionary biologist, what you think is, I’m lucky
to have these 80-odd years: How can I make the most of
my existence here? Being an atheist means coming to
grips with reality. And the reality is twofold. We’re
going to die as individuals, and the whole of humanity,
unless we find a way to colonise other planets, is going
to go extinct. So there’s lots of things that we have to
deal with that we don’t like. We just come to grips with
the reality. Life is the result of natural selection,
and death is the result of natural selection. We are
evolved in such a way that death is almost inevitable.
So you just deal with it.
“It says in the Bible that, ‘When I
was a child I played with childish things, and when I
became a man I put away those childish things.’ And one
of those childish things is the superstition that
there’s a higher purpose. Christopher Hitchens said it’s
time to move beyond the mewling childhood of our species
and deal with reality as it is, and that’s what we have
to do.”
Rebecca Hendin / BuzzFeed
“If I get a
what’s-it-all-for sort of feeling, then I say to myself,
What’s the point of it all? There isn’t any
point. And somehow, for me – I know it’s not true for
other people – that is really comforting. It slows me
down. It reminds me that I didn’t ask to be born here,
I’ll be gone, and I won’t know what’ll happen, I’ll just
be gone, so get on with it. I find that comforting, to
say to myself that there is no point, I live in a
pointless universe. Here I am, for better or worse, get
on with it.
“I was thinking about this yesterday.
I was gardening, out there pulling up brambles, and I
thought, Why do I do this? And the answer is,
because I’m smiling, I’m enjoying it, and actually I
love it. It’s because of the cycles of life. I was
thinking, What’s the point of growing these beans
again, because they’ll just die, and then next year I’ll
do the same thing again. But isn’t that a great
pleasure in life, that that’s how it is? The beans come
and go, and you eat them and they die, and you do the
work, and you see it come and go. Today is the due date
for my first grandchild, and I think similarly about
that. The cycles of birth and death. Here I am in the
autumn of my life, I suppose – I’m 64 – and I’m just
going through the same cycles that everyone goes
through, and it gives me a sense of connection with
other people. God, that sounds a bit poncey.
“The pointlessness of life is not a
thing to be overcome. It’s something to be celebrated
now, because that’s all there is.”
Simon
Coldham, “father, husband, and son”:
“Life is a
series of experiences, and the journey, rather than the
end game, is what I live for. I know where it ends;
that’s inevitable, so why not just make it a fun
journey? I am surrounded by friends and family, and
having a positive effect on them makes me happy, while
giving my kids the opportunity, skills, and empathy to
enjoy their lives gives me an immediate sense of purpose
on a daily basis. I can’t stop the inevitable so I’ll
just enjoy what life I have got, while I’ve got it. I
won’t, after all, be around to regret that it was all
for nothing. “
Rebecca Hendin / BuzzFeed
“To assume there
is meaning to the universe is to misunderstand our
cosmic insignificance. It’s just self-centred and
arrogant to think that there might be something that
might bestow its secrets upon us if we look hard enough.
The universe is indifferent to our existence. But we’re
not merely slaves to our genes.
“A meaningless universe does not mean
we live our lives without purpose. I’m an atheist
(inasmuch as that word means I don’t see evidence or the
need for supernature), but I try to live my life replete
with purpose. Be kind; learn and discover as much as you
can; share that knowledge; relieve suffering when you
can; have tonnes of fun. That’s why it’s not pointless.
We have the power to create life, and to show those
lives wonder. Surely that’s enough? It is for me.”
Rebecca Hendin / BuzzFeed
“Several years
ago I worked on a film called Sunshine which was
written by Alex Garland. He wrote the film as an
exploration of the inevitable, eventual end. Every day
Alex and I would have long, involved discussions about
‘the end of time’. One thing he said stuck with me: ‘Our
problem is that, in an entirely meaningless universe,
our lives are entirely meaningful.’
“There is meaning in the
universe. My children mean something to me. My
husband means something to me. The roses blooming
in my garden mean something to me. So, there is
meaning in the universe, but it is localised: It perhaps
only exists here on Earth.
“When you start to think in universal
time spans, your perception of humanity must necessarily
change. Differences of opinion seem pathetic. National
borders become ridiculous. The only thing that starts to
be important to me is material reality and understanding
how it operates and how matter itself came into being in
the first place.
“Accepting that not only will I die,
but so will everyone I know and everyone I don’t know –
and humanity, and the universe itself – brought me a
very deep and profound peace. I don’t have to run away
from the fear of oblivion. I am not afraid. I celebrate
reality. I don’t have to pretend that there will be some
magic deus ex machina in the third act of my life
which will make it all OK and give me a happy ending. It
is enough that I exist, that I am here now, albeit
briefly, with all of you. And it’s an amazing,
astonishing, remarkable, totally mind-blowing fucking
miracle.
“I try not to
ache my brain too much about how vast the universe is
and what life’s all about. I think it’s OK not to spend
time wondering what the point of human existence is. All
I know is we’re here and we might as well not have a
horrible time, if we can help it. I do feel that life is
ultimately pointless, but I honestly don’t care. I’m
just squeezing as much happiness out of it as I can, for
me and the people around me.”
Rebecca Hendin / BuzzFeed
Kat Arney, biologist and science writer:
“I was raised in
the Church of England. As a teenager, I ‘found Jesus’
and joined the evangelical movement, probably because I
desperately wanted to feel part of a group, and also
loved playing in the church band. I finally had my
reverse Damascene moment as a post-doctoral researcher,
desperately unhappy with my scientific career,
relationship, and pretty much everything else, and can
clearly remember the sudden realisation: I had one life,
and I had to make the best of it. There was no heaven or
hell, no magic man in the sky, and I was the sole
captain of my ship.
“It was an incredibly liberating
moment, and made me realise that the true meaning of
life is what I make with the people around me – my
family, friends, colleagues, and strangers. People tell
religious fairy stories to create meaning, but I’d
rather face up to what all the evidence suggests is the
scientific truth – all we really have is our own
humanity. So let’s be gentle to each other and share the
joy of simply being alive, here and now. Let’s give it
our best shot.”
“I think there
are two things about living in a godless universe that
scare some people. First, there is no one watching over
them, benevolently guiding their lives. Second, because
there is no life after death, it all feels rather bleak.
“Instead of scaring me, I find these
two things incredibly liberating. It means that I am
free to do as I want; my choices are truly mine.
Furthermore, I feel determined to make the most of the
years I have left on this planet, and not squander it.
The life I live now is not a dress rehearsal for
something greater afterwards; it empowers me to focus on
the here and now. That is how I find meaning and purpose
in what might seem a meaningless and purposeless
existence; by concentrating on what I can do, and the
differences I can make in the lives of those around me,
in the short time that we have.”
Rebecca Hendin / BuzzFeed
“Whenever I get
involved in conversations about the meaning of life, and
where everything’s headed, I can’t help but feel that
there’s an underlying assumption that because these are
‘big’ questions, they necessarily need big answers.
There aren’t any, though. We’re not here for a universal
purpose, and there is no grand plan, no matter how
tempting it is to believe it.
“But that’s absolutely fine, because
it means that if there aren’t any big answers, the
little ones are all the more important. So every day, I
take my dog for a walk in the field near my house.
Sometimes I get to see a pretty sunset, but usually it’s
either bucketing down and I get soaked, or cold, or the
field is full of mud and bugs and dog turds, and it’s a
pain to navigate through. Whatever the situation,
though, my dog has the most ridiculous fun ever, and
being a part of that little moment of joy is what it’s
all about. So be nice to the people and things around
you – it doesn’t cost anything, and generally makes the
world a nicer place to live in. Focus on the little
answers.”
“Yes, of course
I know that life is ultimately without meaning or
purpose, but the trick is not to wake up every morning
and feel that way. Cognitive dissonance? Embrace it.
Create a sense of meaning and purpose by doing something
useful with your life (I teach), being creative – I
don’t mean that in a poncey hipster way, I mean make a
curry, build some bookshelves, write a poem.
“And most importantly, find people you
like and love and spend lots of time with them. I
regularly have people over for dinner, throw parties for
no other reason than I just want to spend time
surrounded by the people I love. And if you’re really
stuck, eat rice and dal. Physically filling yourself
with the food you love really does fill the emptiness
you may feel inside.”
Rebecca Hendin / BuzzFeed
“It’s honestly
never bothered me. I suppose that’s because my
definitions of ‘meaning’ and ‘purpose’ are pretty
thoroughly rooted in the world I know. I know what
happiness is, and love, and fulfilment and all that;
these things exist (intermittently) in my short earthly
life, and it’s from these things I derive my ideas of
what a meaningful, purposeful existence is.
“I am, like anyone, staggered when I
consider my tininess in the multi-dimensional scheme of
things, but – and I know this sounds a bit silly – I
don’t really take it personally. Meaning has to be
subjective; atheism actually makes it easier to live
with this, as who is better placed than me to judge the
meaningfulness of my work, or my relationship, or my
piece of buttered toast?”
Tracy King,
writer and producer:
“The notion of
an eternal afterlife, particularly one based on a
meritocracy, is for me the opposite of purpose and
meaning. If I’m going to heaven or hell because of my
trivial actions (depending on which religion you choose)
on earth, then I don’t really have much choice about
what I do, which somewhat minimises my free will and
personal autonomy. I can’t find any purpose in that.
Life is not a rehearsal or test for something else, and
it’s anathema to ‘doing your best’ to treat it as such.
“I don’t pursue purpose or meaning or
even happiness, because I suspect those things, like
religion, lead to complacency. If the bath is the
perfect temperature, why would you ever get out?
Instead, I actively try and push myself to achieve
things that contribute to society in a positive way (for
my particular skillset, that’s science animation), that
give me a sense of a job well done and a benchmark to
improve on. Social achievements that have a small chance
of outlasting me, but if not, it doesn’t matter. I won’t
know about the world forgetting me, ‘cause I’ll be
dead.”
Rebecca Hendin / BuzzFeed
“There’s no
inherent meaning in life, but that doesn’t mean that
it’s meaningless. First off, you’re raised, deliberately
or accidentally, with an array of beliefs, values and
prejudices by family, school, and society, that mesh or
clash with the things you biologically like – that is,
nature and nurture shape your preferences. So there’s
already things that you value, more get put on you
fairly quickly, and you get to spend your life exploring
their precedence, their acceptability to society and its
laws, and whether you really like them or not.
“So, what I’m saying is that value is
inherent to us all, which provides a grounding to
meaning. I’m not saying that such a meaning is
justified, but if you’re smart, lucky and/or ruthless it
might be internally coherent by the time you hit
adulthood, which is more than most off-the-shelf meaning
systems out there (whether that’s philosophies, health
systems, or religions). Meaning is a human thing – to go
looking for it in the alien, unconscious universe is
nonsense on stilts.”
Andrew Copson, chief executive of the British
Humanist Association:
“People ask how
you can find any meaning in life when you know that one
day you’ll be dead and in due course nothing of you will
survive at all – not even people’s memories. This
question has never made sense to me. When I’m reading a
good book, or eating a good meal, or taking a scenic
walk, or enjoying an evening with friends, or having
sex, I don’t spend the whole time thinking, Oh no!
This book won’t last forever; this food will be gone
soon; my walk will stop; my evening will end! I
enjoy the experiences. Although it’s stretched out over
a (hopefully) much longer time, that’s the same way I
think about life. We are here, we are alive. We can
either choose to end that, or to embrace it and to live
for as long as we can, as fully and richly as possible.
“Obviously this means that we all have
different meanings in our lives, things that give us
pleasure and purpose. The most meaningful experiences in
my life have been relationships with people – friends
and family, colleagues and classmates. I love connecting
with other people and finding out more about them. I
enjoy the novels and histories that I read for the same
reason and I like to feel connected to the people who
have gone before us. I hope that the work I do in
different areas of my life will make the world a better
place for people now and in the future, and I feel
connected to those future people too, all as part of a
bigger human story.”
Rebecca Hendin / BuzzFeed
Stephen
Knight, host of the Godless Spellchecker podcast:
“When we reject
the imagined supernatural meaning from our existence,
what we’re left with is far from a consolation prize.
Sure, it’ll be messy at times, sometimes joyous,
sometimes miserable, but it’s all we’ll ever know. And
it’s ours. We invent comforting lies to distract us from
one simple truth: Oblivion looms. So, what are you going
to do about it?
“I choose to live, laugh, love,
travel, create, help others, and learn. And I’m going to
do as much of this as I can manage, because the clock is
ticking. We create our own meaning, and there’s more
than enough to be had. Seize it where you can.”
Jennifer Michael Hecht, author of
Doubt:
“I spent many
years of my life sad about there being no divine
meaning, but having learned the history of doubt and
unbelief, and thought it over for the next decade and a
half, that issue isn’t on the table for me, in that way,
any more. What I believe now is that we think we have a
meaning problem because we recently got out of a
relationship with a character named God, whose given
traits included being the source of human meaning.
“Most people through history have not
believed in an afterlife: We have records of the first
time the ideas of an afterlife appeared in our culture
and others, which means that people before lived without
an afterlife. You don’t hear them calling death an
abyss. The horror we have about there being no afterlife
is entirely local to people from a culture that used to
believe that everyone went on living after death, and
these are an absurd anomaly.
“If I ask myself ‘What is life for?’ I
have to answer: ‘Wrong question.’ You don’t ask how your
foot knows to push the blood in your toes back up to
your heart. It happens, but your foot doesn’t know how
it knows to do it. Life isn’t for anything, but it does
matter. We are a witness to the universe. We are the
witnesses to each other. We believe each other into
being. We generate things and people that matter to us
and to others. Human life is such a bizarre, endlessly
complex riot of emotions and processes; it is amazing to
be one.”
Rebecca Hendin / BuzzFeed
“Often people of
faith assume that because atheists don’t believe in a
master plan or an afterlife we have no purpose in life,
but I couldn’t disagree more. I find the fact that there
is no external force in charge of us all makes the life
we do have much more interesting. We get to derive our
meaning, and create our own purpose, and that makes it a
much richer experience than playing out pre-written
scripts for the amusement of an omniscient almighty.
That we all just get one life to live means we don’t
have the safety net of a do-over, and it makes the time
that we do have more meaningful to me.
“It also means that because there is
no ‘right’ answer to life, there are far fewer wrong
answers – if you’re doing something you love, and you
aren’t harming other people, you’re basically on the
right track. I find compassion in atheism: It makes me
want to help people, because the idea that I stood by
and watched someone’s one shot at life go badly in a way
I could have prevented makes me enormously sad. It’s
also why I reject the idea that atheism leads to a
selfish mentality; it leads me to the feeling that we
all have the same vanishingly short time to enjoy, so
it’s incumbent on us all to try to make society work for
everyone.
“It’s true that in a century or two my
existence will be forgotten, but I find it comforting to
know that everything we stress over will be lost in the
merest blip of cosmological time. The universe doesn’t
care about my mortgage; our obscurity and irrelevance
can be a blessing as well as a burden.”
“The idea of
some higher meaning to life is so ingrained in our
culture that I think we approach this from the wrong
angle. I don’t believe there is any great meaning or
purpose to life, but rather than see this as a lack of
something, why not look at what’s actually there? I find
meaning in my relationships with friends; I find meaning
in music, literature, art, and what they reveal of the
minds, lives, and values of the people who created them.
I find meaning in the ever-increasing understanding
forged by scientists and philosophers. I find meaning in
the actions of others, how people choose to interact
with the world.
“All this sounds like I spend my time
extracting meaning from things, but I mostly spend my
time eating things, wandering about, doing things I need
to do, and being entertained/annoyed by cats.
“Things don’t happen for a reason. The
world exists in the moment for its own sake and we just
happen to be able to observe, experience, and reflect on
it. What matters is how you live day to day.”
Rebecca Hendin / BuzzFeed
“Three years and nine
months ago I would have declared myself agnostic. Then
my husband died without warning at the age of 47. My
life fell to pieces. This is no exaggeration. As the
terrible days passed in a fog the same question kept
forming. Why? Why him? Why us? I was told by
well-meaning friends that it was part of God’s plan and
we would simply never know what that was. Or from
friends with a looser definition of religion, that the
Universe had something to teach me. I had lessons to
learn.
“These thoughts caused me great fear,
anger, and confusion. What sort of God, even if he had a
plan for me, would separate a fine, kind, gentle man
from his children? Why would God or the Universe look
down and pick on our little family for special
treatment? Why a good man with not a bad bone in his
body who had never raised a hand to anyone? My best
friend for 29 years. Any lesson the Universe had to
teach me I would have learned willingly. He didn’t have
to die!
“I thought about it a lot. I was
raised Catholic so guilt ran through me like writing
through a stick of rock. Had I been a bad wife? Was he
waiting for me? There were days when, if I had been
certain of a belief in an afterlife, I might have gone
to join him. It was a desperate time. I needed evidence
and there simply wasn’t any. I just had to have faith
and believe.
“One day as I was sitting on his
memorial bench in the local park I suddenly thought,
What if no one is to blame? Not God. Not me. Not the
Universe. What if he’s gone and that’s all there is to
it? No plan. Just dreadful circumstances. A minor
disturbance in his heart led to a more serious and
ultimately deadly arrhythmia, and that killed him in a
matter of moments. It is a purely scientific view of it.
I may seem cold or callous but I found comfort in that.
I cried and cried and cried, but that made logical sense
to me and brought me great peace.
“My heart and head still miss my
husband every day. I treasure everything he gave me and
I love him as much today as the day he died. But I can
remember him happily without wondering what we had done
to deserve this dreadful separation.
“So I declare myself atheist (and
humanist by extension) and my friends shake their heads.
I stay on the straight and narrow without the guiding
hand of a creator or any book of instructions.
“I’m not a religious or a spiritual
person. (For some reason many of my female friends are
shocked by this admission!) I don’t believe in God or
the Universe. I don’t believe in angels, the power of
prayer, spirits, ghosts, or an afterlife. The list goes
on and on. I think there is a scientific meaning for
everything, even if we don’t understand it yet. I find
meaning in everyday things and I choose to carry on.
“The sun comes up and I have a chance
to be kind to anyone who crosses my path because I can.
I make that choice for myself and nobody has to tell me
to do it. I am right with myself. I try my best to do my
best, and if I fail, I try again tomorrow. I support
myself in my own journey through life. I draw my own
conclusions.
“I find joy in the people I love. I
love and I am loved. I find peace in the places I visit.
Cry when I listen to music I love and find almost
childlike joy in many things. This world is brilliant
and full of fascinating things. I have to think
carefully for myself. I don’t have to believe what I’m
told. I must ask questions and I try and use logic and
reason to answer them. I believe that every human life
carries equal worth. I struggle with how difficult the
world can be, but when we have free will some people
will make terrible decisions. No deity forces their hand
and they must live with that.
“Life is a personal struggle. Grieving
is never an easy road to travel. It’s painful and lonely
at times but I use what I know to try to help when I
can. I try to be loving and caring with my family and
friends, and have fun. I will cry with friends in
distress and hear other people’s stories and be kind
because it does me good as well. I listen and I learn.
It helps me to be better. Life without God is not a life
without meaning. Everything, each and every interaction,
is full of meaning. Everything matters.”
